Preparation of flame retardant and anti-dripping PET fabric based on heme chloride dyeing and mussel-inspired strategy

Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) fibers are widely used in many fields, but their flammability and molten droplet characteristics during combustion pose a significant safety risk. To address the issue, a novel approach was developed to enhance the flame retardant and anti-dripping performances of PET fabric through a combination of dyeing and mussel-inspired strategy. First, PET fabric was directly dyed with heme chloride (HC) to produce dyed PET fabric (HC-PET), which was then treated by a mussel-inspired tannic acid-based flame retardant (TAPP) and an impregnation-drying-curing process to prepare flame retardant PET fabric (FR-PET). The results indicated that the total heat release (THR) and peak smoke production rate (PSPR) of FR-PET were decreased by 22.8 % and 49.7 %, respectively, and the limiting oxygen index (LOI) was increased from 21 % to 29.8 %, showing good flame retardant properties. Additionally, the UV resistance and antibacterial performances of FR-PET were also significantly improved. In summary, this study provided a feasible approach for the preparation of multifunctional PET textiles with dyeing, flame retardant, anti-dripping, UV resistance and antibacterial performances.